


Would You Like Fries With That?

by Salmon_I



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Arturo is adorable, Gen, Mentions of Echo (Roswell New Mexico), Mentions of Miluca, Science Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-11-01 01:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20805554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salmon_I/pseuds/Salmon_I
Summary: The next time he saw Liz with Michael together, it was when he’d come in to order his usual meal to go. Liz had taken his bag to him, but ten minutes later he was still at the counter, nibbling fries out of his to-go container and talking to her. This time he heard enough of their conversation to know they were discussing chemicals, which was definitely not the conversation topic he’d expected.  Nor was it a topic he expected two people to seem to enjoy so much or have such strong opinions on.  Apparently he was wrong on both accounts, because Liz and Michael seemed to have very strong opinions on chemicals.  They were able to discuss them for another fifteen minutes before Michael finally left.  Of all the people to suddenly break the bubble of solitude around the young man, the last person he’d expected was his daughter.  Especially when Liz seemed determined to live in a bubble of solitude of her own.





	Would You Like Fries With That?

The first time Arturo ever saw Michael Guerin he was an underfed preteen sharing a table with Max and Isobel Evans. He only ordered a side of fries the first time, and paid for it all in coins. If Arturo had made sure the side of fries was bigger than it would normally be, no one was the wiser. In the years that followed, Max Evans would make sure he ordered first and buy two meals. The other boy never looked happy about it, and insisted that he would pay him back later. It wasn’t until his teens that he ever ordered a full meal for himself - after he’d been hired by Sanders’ Auto. If his best cooks all knew to make the size of the meal slightly bigger when they saw the teen’s name on the ticket, it was a shared secret.

In the years that followed Rosa’s death, Arturo didn’t see the young man as often. Nor did he ever seem to be with the Evans anymore. He’d come in, always alone, and always order to go. Roswell was a town that loved to talk, and Michael had two different reputations. There was the drunk with the speeding tickets and the gambling charges. Then there was the young man the Fosters and Sanders talked about. The mechanic who could fix anything, and never missed a day’s work. Of course, among the ranchers and ranch hands all three listed offenses were more par for the course than a shocking example of poor behaviour. Despite holding a better reputation among his co-workers than the townsfolk, Arturo still always saw the sullen young man alone.

The first time he saw Liz talking with Michael after she returned to Roswell was an afternoon - right before she headed into work at the hospital. They stopped outside the Crashdown Cafe to talk. He couldn’t hear a word they were saying, and at first he wondered if it wasn’t about Max Evans. Liz had admitted to feeling conflicted over her feelings for Max, seeing as they knew so little about each other’s lives in the years apart. If she wanted to know more about Max’s life in Roswell, he supposed she could be talking to his friends. However, the conversation went on a far longer than he expected, and they both seemed to be very animated about whatever the subject was. Liz suddenly looked at the time on her watch, and it was clear she was cutting the conversation short as she went to her car. MIchael came in to order his meal to go as if nothing new had just happened. If he still slipped him extra fries, Michael didn’t catch on.

The next time he saw Liz with Michael together, it was when he’d come in to order his usual meal to go. Liz had taken his bag to him, but ten minutes later he was still at the counter, nibbling fries out of his to-go container and talking to her. This time he heard enough of their conversation to know they were discussing chemicals, which was definitely not the conversation topic he’d expected. Nor was it a topic he expected two people to seem to enjoy so much or have such strong opinions on. Apparently he was wrong on both accounts, because Liz and Michael seemed to have very strong opinions on chemicals. They were able to discuss them for another fifteen minutes before Michael finally left. Of all the people to suddenly break the bubble of solitude around the young man, the last person he’d expected was his daughter. Especially when Liz seemed determined to live in a bubble of solitude of her own.

Apparently Liz’s bubble was breaking, though. She went with Maria on a trip to Texas, and upon her return was smiling like he hadn’t seen her smile in a long time. When he commented she confessed that she was thinking of pursuing a relationship with Max. Arturo would be lying if he said he didn’t approve. Max Evans was a good man, and he knew he’d always had a soft spot for his daughter.

When Michael showed up not long after to pick up a late lunch, Liz’s eyes lit up the same way they would have if Maria or Alex had walked in the door. “Look what the cat dragged in from Texas.”

“I’d say something witty about my truck making it back in one piece, but that would only be if you got to drive, cuz Max drives like an old lady.” Michael told her.

“Yah, he obeyed the speed limit.” Liz admitted readily. “Even on the rural highway where everyone else was driving over a hundred.”

“Told ya.”

“I’ll work on it.”

“Yah, I don’t want details when it comes to you and Max.” MIchael shook his head.

“Should I be insulted? Cuz I’ve been told I’m pretty hot.” She gestured to herself.

“It’s not you, it’s Max.” Michael assured her.

“So if it was me and Kyle you’d want details?” Liz tormented.

“Gross, I was hungry, Ortecho.”

“You just don’t have any taste, Mikey.”

“Okay, seriously? Mikey? I thought that was a drunk Liz moment. Nobody calls me that.”

“Well, I think it fits.”

“No.”

“I’m going to call you that from here on out.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Look on the bright side, you’ll always know when it’s me calling you.”

“So I can run the other way?” MIchael gestured to one side in exaggeration of the idea.

Liz only smiled at his teasing. “How’s Maria? I have to stop by still.”

“Oh, as delightful as always.”

“You seemed into it in Texas.”

“I was drunk in Texas.”

“Aw, did you get shot down, Mikey?”

“Did you and Max seriously get separate rooms, Elizabeth?”

“Elizabeth?” LIz repeated. “Okay, no. No bueno.”

“I think it fits.”

“Okay, Mikey, we’ll see how long you can last at this.”

“Sure thing, Elizabeth. Anyhow, I’m here for lunch.”

“Oh, you’re buying me lunch?” Liz grinned. “That’s so sweet.”

“Why would I buy you lunch at your family’s cafe?”

“So you’re buying me lunch elsewhere?”

“You aren’t getting a free lunch out of me.”

“I’m hurt, I thought we were closer than that.”

Friendship, Arturo decided, looked good on both of them. And if he still added extra fries, only Liz gave him a speculative glance over it.

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of two prompts:
> 
> outsider pov of liz and michael’s budding friendship  
when liz won’t stop calling michael ‘mikey’ he retaliates by calling her elizabeth
> 
> So back when I initially wrote this I assumed there was an extra day somewhere between 01x09 and 01x10, with Isobel being taken out of the pod on the morning of the second day (which was also the day I assumed Alex approached MIchael) Do I still feel like it’s a stretch for everything from the end of 01x09 and most of 01x10 to happen in what amounts to a 5 hour time period? Heck, yes. But, y’know, television - *handwavy*. So I made some changes for it to occur the same day, Liz did go home to shower and change clothes after Max and her kiss. So there is a spot in there for the final scene to happen before Michael returns to Sanders and Liz goes to the hospital to check the serum.


End file.
